The label viewed it as a way to gain credibility with other, more promising indie bands that they hoped to attract. During the interest in that followed 's breakthrough success in, Royal Trux signed a three-record contract totaling over one million dollars with the major label. The songwriting remained highly experimental, but was more melodic, which was revealed on tracks such as 'The Flag,' 'The Spectre,' and 'Turn of the Century.' Around this time, the band signed with and a Royal Trux record was assigned a catalog number for an album which never appeared. Following the release of their untitled album, Hagerty and Herrema were joined by guitarist Michael Kaiser and drummer Ian Willers in order to complete their fourth full-length, Cats and Dogs. The arguably atypical lyricism and sonic atonality of their first two albums was largely abandoned in favor of a more stripped, direct sound. Forgoing the experimentalism of Twin Infinitives, the band instead opted for a more approach, recording on an. After Twin Infinitives, Royal Trux released an untitled album (sometimes referred to as the Skulls record because of its sleeve artwork ). In fanzine interviews, the band was open about their heroin use.
Then, after moving to San Francisco, Royal Trux released the experimental double-album.
